This very impressive building was, until 2009, the Main Post Office for Kansas City, Missouri. It is now part of a complex that houses the Internal Revenue Service - so the building itself cannot be approached except from the street.
Information on the building from the National Register application:
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"The United States Post Office, located at 315 W. Pershing Road, Kansas City, Jackson County, Missouri, is a five-story reinforced concrete facility measuring 265 by 280 feet. Designed by James A. Wetmore, Acting Supervising Architect, United States Treasury Department and constructed in 1930-1933 by Ring Construction Company, Minneapolis, the Neo-Classical facility epitomized the urban design ideals adopted by the City Beautiful Movement. Although the main facade faces north, all facades are characterized by the same monumental design and embellishments in limestone. During the initial Federal appropriation for construction of the post office in 1916, the bill authorizing the purchase of the land in Kansas City also included language that established uniform plans for all post office buildings based on the size of the community served.
Located at the intersection of Broadway Boulevard and Pershing Road, the United States Post Office features a surface parking lot directly to the north of the building, while the National Register listed Union Station is located across Pershing Road slightly to the northeast. The Sweeney Building, a multi-story office building is sited to the east and to the west is the Royal Office Building. Penn Valley Park and Liberty Memorial, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, are located to the southeast. To the southwest on the east side of Broadway are one-story commercial buildings. The facility is sited on five-acres.
In excellent condition, the United States Post Office Building has retained the majority of its historic features to convey its historic significance.
ELABORATION
The third through fifth floors are distinguished by a colossal colonnade featuring fluted, Doric columns with egg and dart abacus. Prominent bronze spandrels, placed between each floor and column, feature festoons in high relief. The colonnade supports a denticulated cornice with carved rondels. The colonnade of each facade is flanked by projecting end bays; each bay is articulated by pilasters and colossal piers terminating in carved, highly stylized eagles. Bays are crowned by a stepped parapet decorated with alternating carved rondels and Doric frieze-inspired panels. Fenestration, often paired, consists of metal and aluminum multipaned, double-hung sash units. Parapet wall, raised above the main wall surface, is embellished with running, alternating rondels and festoons. The main entrance at the north facade, reached by a series of steps with solid rail and fluted pedestals, consists of three pedimented doorways, symmetrically placed. Grillwork is placed above the pediments, while the recessed entrances feature surrounds with carved rosettes and geometric banding. Carved, stylized eagles and wreaths rest above the entry bay.
Loading docks at the south and west facades are sheltered by a flat-roofed canopy and screened by prominent walls. An employee entrance, featuring multi-paned double-doors with transom and sidelights, is located at the west facade. A c. 1980 one-story metal enclosed passageway addition covers three-fourths of the second story. On the south side of the building, a wall projects westward from the first floor dock and encloses a parking deck. Below the deck is the parking area for the basement level dock. Access is from the north side. On the southwest corner is a modem three-story addition and dock enclosure.
On the east side of the building, a curved flight of masonry stairs accesses the southeast corner of Penn Valley Park. An entrance, featuring multi-paned double-doors with transom and sidelights is located at the southeast corner of the building. Another formal entrance appears midway in the east facade. A central square light well is located in the center of the building. The pyramidal glass skylight on the fifth floor illuminates the fourth floor space. The walls of the fifth and sixth floors surround the light well. A tunnel, 18 feet wide and 12 feet high, originally housing mail chutes and a conveyor belt is located in the sub-basement and connects to the former mail center of neighboring Union Station."